[Removed user]

14 May 2018 at 23:35:11 #815971

Hi,

We are planning to travel to Siwtzerland with our 4 year old boy. We want to purchase the swiss travel pass for 8 days. Our plan is to travel from Paris to Interlaken via Geneva. We plan to stay in Interlaken for 3 nights during which we plan to do Jungfraugh, Shilthrone, explore city and do couple of boat rides including St Peters Waterfall & caves. From Interlaken, we plan to go to Zermatt amd stay there for three nights during which we plan to do Titlis and Rigi. Again take couple of boat rides. From Zermatt we plan to go to Lucerne for two nights. Visit the town of Mureen and come back to Paris through Zurich. My questions are:

1. Is Swiss travel pass worth while for this plan

2. We want to take the Glacier express to Chur. However, not sure how to fit it into our plan. Do we come back the same day and if yes, through which transport. If we stay, should we stay in Chur or Lugano and how do we take our trip forward from there

3. How do i book my tickets from Paris to Geneva. We are not that interested in visiting Geneva. Do i directly book my train from paris to Interlaken or is there a better scenic route from Geneva to Interlaken covered in the swiss travel pass. Also, do i get any discount on my ticket from Paris to Switzerland and if yes, how do i get the same. Whenever i try to book, it charges me a full price and I am not getting the option to select discounted price.

Thank you all for your help in advance. I am confused and too overwhelmed by all the information here.

Isha

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[Removed user]

15 May 2018 at 7:25:48 #885201

Hi Isha, and welcome to MySwissAlps!

>> We plan to stay in Interlaken for 3 nights during which we plan to do Jungfraugh, Shilthrone, explore city and do couple of boat rides including St Peters Waterfall & caves. From Interlaken, we plan to go to Zermatt amd stay there for three nights during which we plan to do Titlis and Rigi. Again take couple of boat rides. From Zermatt we plan to go to Lucerne for two nights. Visit the town of Mureen and come back to Paris through Zurich.

Your itinerary is very mixed up geographically. I suggest you consult a map and rearrange your activities to better match your base locations. If you spell place names correctly, it will be easier to find them on a map. Ýou will get better advice on your itinerary if you provide exact travel dates, as many of the excursions/activities you mention are seasonal.

>> Is Swiss travel pass worth while for this plan

A Swiss Travel Pass would be a convenient option. If you want to know if it is also the cheapest option, there is only one way to know for sure: plan your itinerary in detail, including all trips by train, bus, boat and cable car. Then look up the full-fare cost of all planned trips and compare the total cost of separate tickets with the cost of doing the same trips with the Swiss Travel Pass, Swiss Half Fare Card etc.

You can find fares in the Swiss Timetable.

http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

(Use the one on the right with the red SBB logo.)

The first fare you see on the Swiss Timetable for a particular trip will say “Tickets from CHF ##.##“. You need to click on “Tickets from CHF ##.##” to find out more, at which point you will see that this figure only applies to passengers who have a Swiss Half Fare Card (for tourists) or Half-Fare travelcard (for Swiss residents). Your calculations need to be based on full fares, which are double that fare.

There is information and a spreadsheet here to help you:

http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass

>> We want to take the Glacier express to Chur. However, not sure how to fit it into our plan.

If you plan on incorporating scenic train trips into your itinerary, your overnight stops should be chosen with those routes and travel times in mind. There is a map of the panoramic routes to help with your planning: it is attached to the map showing where the Swiss Travel Pass is valid, and you can download it from the following page:

http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/validity

For planning individual trips, working out travel times and finding out how much you can fit into one day, you need to use the Swiss Timetable (link above). The Glacier Express from Zermatt to Chur takes around 5.5 hours one way.

>> How do i book my tickets from Paris to Geneva.

Please read the information here:

http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/france

>> scenic route from Geneva to Interlaken covered in the swiss travel pass.

The most scenic route from Geneva to Interlaken is to travel first from Geneva to Montreux, and then on the Golden Pass route from Montreux to Interlaken Ost via Zweisimmen.

http://www.myswissalps.com/go ldenpass

You will need to use the Swiss Timetable to find out whether the travel time required for this route suits your itinerary or not.

>> Also, do i get any discount on my ticket from Paris to Switzerland

No, the Swiss Travel Pass does not give you a discount on your ticket from Paris to Geneva.From Geneva onwards within Switzerland, you don’t need a ticket if you have a valid Swiss Travel Pass, so you can just buy a ticket from Paris to Geneva.

Alpenrose